recognizing differences between facts & opinions

Recognizing Differences Between Facts & Opinions

The particular reading skill introduced for this unit is recognizing differences between facts and opinions. The ability to recognize differences between fact and opinion is important because it can help us to achieve a deeper level of understanding in our reading.

Facts are statements that tell what really happened or what really is the case. A fact can be proved or disproved with direct evidence. It is something known by actual experience or observing. Look at the following example taken from Reading Passage A:

ⅠⅠ. . Reading Skills: Reading Skills: Recognizing Differences Between Facts & Opinions

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Her mother, Deborah, all along had been

supportive of our relationship, and even joked

about when we were going to get married so she

could have grandchildren. (Para. 5, Reading

Passage A, Unit 3)

This sentence tells us about a past state of

affairs: certainly it is a fact.

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ⅠⅠ. . Reading Skills: Reading Skills: Recognizing Differences Between Facts & Opinions

Opinions are statements of belief, judgment or feeling. They show what someone thinks or feels about a subject. Some words can serve as clues to statements of some kinds of opinion. For example, probably, perhaps, usually, often, sometimes, on occasion are used to limit a statement of fact and to indicate the possibility of other opinions. Other words, such as I believe, I think, in my opinion, I feel, I suggest, say clearly that an opinion will follow. Look at the following examples:

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BackBackⅠⅠ. . Reading Skills: Reading Skills: Recognizing Differences Between Facts & Opinions

1. Any mother would be proud to have him for a son-in-law. (Para. 7, Reading Passage A, Unit 3) 2. When we met I saw him as my beloved, intelligent, charming, and caring. (Para. 7, Reading Passage A, Unit 3) 3. I’m sure that time will only confirm what we feel deeply about each other. (Para. 8, Reading Passage A, Unit 3) 4. Maybe our children will have some problems, but whose children don’t? (Para. 18, Reading Passage A, Unit 3)

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But it is not always easy to tell opinion from

fact. A writer often combines the two in such a

way that we do not always notice where fact

ends and opinion begins. When we have fact

and opinion combined in a single statement, we

must decide whether the major clause or main

point of the sentence is essentially fact or

opinion. Sometimes an opinion is presented as if

it were a fact:

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But one thing they’ll always have: our

love and devotion. (Para. 18, Reading Passage

A, Unit 3)

On the surface it is a statement of fact, but

actually it is only a promise, something yet to

be realized in the future.

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ⅠⅠ. . Reading Skills: Reading Skills: Practice

Find and look at the following statements from Reading Passage B. Which are facts? Which are opinions? Select O for opinion or F for fact.

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1. _____ 1. _____ After much thought, I came up with a

brilliant plan for Rich to meet my mother

and win her over.

FF

2. _____ 2. _____ One day, my mother called me, to

invite me to a birthday dinner for my father.

FF

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3. _____ 3. _____ I knew she would do this, because cooking was how my mother expressed her love, her pride, her power, her proof that she knew more than any one else.

OO

4. _____ 4. _____ Rich was not only not Chinese, he was

also my junior, a few years younger than I was.

FF

5. _____ 5. _____ And unfortunately, he looked much younger with his curly red hair, smooth pale skin, and the splash of orange freckles across his nose.

OO

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6. _____ 6. _____ In his dark business suits, he looked nice

but easily forgettable, like somebody’s nephew

at a funeral.

OO

7. _____ 7. _____ I felt compelled to defend on his behalf, a

bit too heatedly as I raised my voice above the

noise of the kitchen.

OO

8. _____ 8. _____ He had brought a bottle of French wine,

something he did not know my parents could not

appreciate.

FF

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ⅠⅠ. . Reading Skills: Reading Skills: Practice

9. _____ 9. _____ But the worst happened when Rich

criticized my mother’s cooking, and he didn’t

even have a clue about what he had done.

OO

10. _____ 10. _____ As is the Chinese cook’s custom, my

mother always made negative remarks about

her own cooking.

FF

recognizing differences between facts & opinions

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